MLB: St. Louis 8, Atlanta 3

ATLANTA, July 29 (UPI) -- Albert Pujols homered and Yadier Molina drove in two runs Tuesday, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

Ryan Franklin (4-4) pitched two scoreless innings to win in relief of Todd Wellemeyer, who held the Braves to two runs on eight hits in six innings.

Gregor Blanco went 4-for-4 with an RBI for the Braves, who have a four-game losing streak. Greg Norton started in place of first baseman Mark Teixeira, who was traded to the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday, and went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Losing pitcher Rafael Soriano (0-1) allowed an unearned run. Atlanta starter Jorge Campillo allowed two runs on seven hits in seven innings. Mike Gonzalez gave up five runs in two-thirds of an inning.